Memorial to Bahrain’s Martyr Bahiya Al Aradi on International Womens Day

Martyr Bahia Abdelrasoul Al-Aradi (Ms).

Name:Martyr Bahia Abdelrasoul Al-Aradi (Ms)

Age:51 years

Area:Bahrain- Manama
Reason of Martyrdom:in pursuit of Allah’s pleasure and over the issue for getting back human dignity and freedom in his country.

Date of Martyr:20th March 2011
Way of Martyrdom:She was shot in the head on 17th March by sniper She was on the phone with her younger sister when she was shot. According to witnesses who came to her aid from nearby houses. They claim they were also shot at by the military vehicles parked on a highway near Al-Gadam roundabout. Bahia’s family refused to take her body when they were asked to sign a paper saying that she died in a car accident. Final official death certificate stated that Bahia died as result of “severe brain injury

Family mourns senseless death of Bahiya Al Aradi
23 March, 2011 – Zoi Constantine – The National

MANAMA – Some sat quietly crying. Others wailed and cursed the government, which they hold responsible for the death of the 51-year-old woman who was shot in the head a week ago. Bahiya Al Aradi’s sister Umm Mahmoud urged the women not to cry.

“She is the first shaheeda [female martyr],” she told the mourners. “Don’t cry.”

Al Aradi had not been involved in the pro-democracy demonstrations that began over a month ago in Bahrain, before the violent clampdown when security forces stormed Pearl Roundabout, killing three and wounding many more.

An estimated 25 people, including at least 15 Shia Bahrainis, have been killed since unrest broke out in the island kingdom on February 14. Opposition groups say around 100 people are still unaccounted for.

The government announced a state of emergency last week, shortly before the arrival of the Peninsula Shield Force, led by Saudi Arabia and including UAE police.

On Wednesday afternoon, al Aradi was en route from her elderly mother’s home in central Manama to the home of her best friend of 40 years, a woman who would agree to be identified only by the name Salwa.

After the violent events of the morning, there was a heavy police and military presence on the roads as al Aradi drove Salwa’s car from Manama towards the area of Budaiya.

A drive that would normally take 20 minutes ended up taking hours, as she was stopped by multiple military checkpoints.

Umm Mahmoud said her sister was rerouted several times, struggled to find petrol and became increasingly alarmed about driving in the dark with armed soldiers on the streets.

As she was driving through the village of Qadam, al Aradi was on the phone to one of her sisters, who suddenly heard what sounded like shots being fired on the other end of the line.

“My sister heard Bahia scream,” said Umm Mahmoud, 37, in the family home’s majlis in Manama. “My sister called me and said ‘Maybe she’s dead’.”

Three days later, the al Aradi family were informed that she was at the Bahrain Defence Force Hospital. After several unsuccessful attempts to enter the facility, Habib al Aradi, her brother, was finally given access and found his elder sister hooked up to life-support.

On Monday night, the family were told that she had passed away.

There has been no comment from the government about al Aradi’s death, but the official death certificate issued to the family yesterday said she died from the “shock” of a “severe brain injury”.

By yesterday, a wound in the back of her head had been stitched up, making it difficult to determine the exact entry point of the bullet. …more